He stretched and felt a lot more rested than usual Soon thereafter Ren called and she must have noticed something in his voice
Did you wake up on your own today Good job
That put him in a pretty good mood as he left bed
”I dreamed of Lucya
How many times had he dreamed of playing with that strange girl now
The dream was slightly different each time Some days he simply played with her some days they grew wheat and some days they harvested fruit
The only common factor was the idyllic lifestyle they lived
And that they were always together
He did not know why he was having these dreams but he kind of liked them
He enjoyed dreaming of her
Almost like he was in love
Ange
He came to a stop after leaving the living room
Ange was sleeping in the recliner that was reclined and facing the TV
It was a strange sight He sometimes saw Micha sleeping there after she got drunk but it was not like Ange at all
She seemed to have left last night too so had she gotten back late and collapsed there
What was she doing at night That question came to mind but she looked so cute when she slept that he smiled bitterly and carried a blanket over to her
She must have been a little chilly because when he placed it over her she
wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled the blanket over her head
She was just like a child so Mutsuki smiled bitterly again
Lately they had been leaving for school separately and she had been leaving at night so they did not get to spend much time together
That made him feel a little sad so he watched her cute face as she slept until he absolutely had to leave for school
September had passed its midpoint and the cultural festival which would take place at the end of the month was gradually taking shape
He had worked so hard toward the beginning that the odd jobs helping out Ren were a lot easier now The Student Council and everyone else were making good progress on their preparations
Each class and club was working hard to complete their part of the festival
However Mutsuki’s Middle School Class 2-1 had a problem
I’ll go talk to the Student Council
Sure Good luck bestie
After being seen off by an unusually lifeless Sakae Mutsuki left the somewhat gloomy atmosphere of the classroom
He knew why
Since Lucia had ultimately stepped down they still had not chosen a lead for the play The Student Council had warned them they had to choose soon
Mutsuki wished he had not had to give that warning but
He arrived at the Student Council Room
The Middle School Student Council was made up of six people including the President the boy and girl pair of the Vice President and Secretary and Tanaka-senpai the former President who was acting as the President’s aide The five besides the President accepted Ren as their leader even though she had only retaken the position in the second term and they had been very open with the mysterious worker their leader had brought in They were all quite friendly to Mutsuki Mutsuki however was not used to a space filled with upperclassmen
Okay let’s get started on today’s work Are you ready Fujita Mutsuki
But he was no longer nervous around Ren at least
It had not been easy assigning classroom space for the refreshment shops while taking into account power distribution and the type of food and drink served
Mutsuki felt dizzy after performing so much arithmetic in confusing units like watts and volts
The boy had been stuck at a table in the Student Council Room for several hours
He had just finished up arranging the refreshment shops so it would not trip the breaker His eyes were bleary after staring at the map of the school for so long
The sky was already red
He sat up and stretched in the evening sunlight shining in through the western window
The announcements telling all remaining students to leave would begin in half an hour or so so most of the Student Council had already gone home Mutsuki had just finished his work so he could leave too He sent Ange an email thinking they could go home together but
I have business to take care of Go home on your own
He only received that blunt reply
He collapsed back onto the table and sighed
Before summer break those two had been obligated to be together at all times including on the way home but the alert level had been lowered for the second term and they no longer made an effort to match their schedules Since they lived together they should have been able to head home together but
Good work
Something cold touched the nape of his neck
He was so shocked he nearly fell from the chair He looked back in surprise and saw Ren’s mischievously narrowed eyes and a chilled can of coffee in her hand
He smiled bitterly and accepted it
This was his tenth day helping her She sometimes treated him to a drink like this
Since it was a treat from the upperclassman everyone admired even a single can of coffee felt like a luxury
He opened the tab with a satisfying pshh Ren’s favorite was the relatively-unpopular black coffee sold at the school store It was a little bitter